Rosalie Ellen Caster, known as Miss Rose to her Delta Downs family, peacefully passed away Oct. 20, 2022, at her daughter’s home in Round Rock, Texas, at the age of 86 after a courageous battle with cancer.
She was born on Sept. 6, 1936, in Mendota, Ill., to parents, Audrey Rose and Vern Jackson.
She was Valedictorian of the Mendota High School class of 1954. She played clarinet in the band, participated in debate and many other activities. She valued her high school friendships, especially her lifelong friend, Shirley Johnson.
Rose received a scholarship to the University of Colorado. There she met and married the love of her life, Alva Caster. They were married 56 years until Alva’s death in 2015.
Rose and Al lived in many different locations in the U.S. and travelled the world together.
She was a world class storyteller and shared her stories and unfailing sense of humor with friends and strangers alike.
Rose held a variety of positions from working on the Minute Man missile at a facility in Utah to selling real estate in Kansas City and Houston. She returned to her beloved world of horses and trained and raced horses until she joined the Delta Downs family in the racing office. For more than thirty years, she was Miss Rose to all who came to the office. She loved and cared for all her work family.
She is survived by her children, Ted Caster (Donna), Laura Weiser (Juan Velasquez), Audrey Zwak (Shawn) and Dan Caster (Charlotte); 17 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
Rose was predeceased by her husband, Alva Caster; and her parents. She was an only child but was welcomed into the large family of her husband who loved her and she them.
A celebration of Rose’s life will be held at the Welsh Memorial United Methodist Church in Vinton, La., at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. A memorial race will be held at Delta Downs on Saturday, Nov. 12.
Donations in Rose’s memory may be made to the Adaptive Horse Program at STARS (Steamboat Adaptive Recreation Sports) Steamboat, Colo.